The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction by Julian D. Richards Page B
Authors: Julian D. Richards
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Norwegian raid on Rechru (probably Rathlin Island, County e Vi
Antrim) in 795. Up to the early 10th century there is always a clear Th
distinction between Norse and Irish; thereafter the differences become blurred. The raids follow a similar pattern to those recorded in England. From the 830s isolated coastal attacks on monastic sites give way to systematic expeditions inland by larger fleets, and the construction of fortified camps, known as longphorts .
In 841 a stronghold was established as Dubh-linn , the ‘black pool’, at a crossing point over the River Liffey. Dublin, under Olaf the White, emerged as a small and powerful kingdom, until the Norse were ousted by an Irish coalition in 902, and ‘abandoned a good number of their ships, and escaped half-dead after they had been wounded and broken’, probably fleeing to north-west England. A short period of relative peace was followed by renewed raiding and in 917 the base at Dublin was re-established; by the mid-10th century it ruled over a substantial hinterland and written sources describe Dublin as the centre of the slave trade. With the Norman 78
conquest of Ireland in the 1160s the Norse towns became the property of the English crown. By the 12th century all Irish structures were attributed to the Norse, because it was believed that the Irish were incapable of building them. The Welsh writer and cleric Giraldus Cambrensis (1146–1223) wrote that ‘the Irish attach no importance to castles, they make the woods their strongholds and the bogs their trenches’.
Viking Dublin was rediscovered in the 19th century. At least four separate cemeteries and a number of single graves were found in and around Dublin, totalling c .70–80 male burials and about ten female burials. All are assumed to date from the 60-year period between 841 and 902. The largest concentration was discovered in Raider
1841 in railway cuttings near Kilmainham gaol; a second concentration was found 800 metres further west along the ridge, s an
at Islandbridge. In both cases the burials were inserted amongst d tr
unaccompanied Christian cist graves. All appear to have been ader
inhumations: there were c .40 swords, c .20 spears and shields, and a s aroun few oval brooches from female costume. Some of the grave-goods, d th
including weights and scales, suggested trading activities; there e Irish Sea
were also shears, sickles, tongs and pincers, spindle whorls, and needle cases.
As a result of urban redevelopment, subsequent archaeological excavation has also focused upon Dublin, and has concentrated on the investigation of its origins. The town was enclosed by an earthen bank in the 10th century; a second larger bank was built outside this around the 11th-century town. There were extensive excavations from 1961–81 at High Street, Winetavern Street, and Woodquay. The material has been taken as evidence of predominant, or exclusively, Hiberno-Norse occupation from an early period. The post and wattle houses and workshops have no direct parallels and may have been an Irish type, or may have been influenced from England during the 10th-century re-establishment.
They had internal roof-bearing posts, wattle and daub walls, with rounded corners, and a door in each gable wall. The interiors had 79
central hearths with narrow wall benches; there were sometimes small cubicles at each end.
At Fishamble Street extensive excavations have revealed a long sequence of occupation, with Anglo-Saxon-style buildings in the late 9th century, replaced by Hiberno-Norse buildings developed within 14 contiguous plots along the street from c .920 to the 11th century. No stables or byres have been found and the animal bones show that meat must have been brought from outside the town, although Finbar McCormick has suggested that the high proportion of pig bones suggest that pigs were kept in the backyards of the properties, maybe reflecting uncertainty over the food supply.
The proportion of pigs is
kin
Norwegian raid on Rechru (probably Rathlin Island, County e Vi
Antrim) in 795. Up to the early 10th century there is always a clear Th
distinction between Norse and Irish; thereafter the differences become blurred. The raids follow a similar pattern to those recorded in England. From the 830s isolated coastal attacks on monastic sites give way to systematic expeditions inland by larger fleets, and the construction of fortified camps, known as longphorts .
In 841 a stronghold was established as Dubh-linn , the ‘black pool’, at a crossing point over the River Liffey. Dublin, under Olaf the White, emerged as a small and powerful kingdom, until the Norse were ousted by an Irish coalition in 902, and ‘abandoned a good number of their ships, and escaped half-dead after they had been wounded and broken’, probably fleeing to north-west England. A short period of relative peace was followed by renewed raiding and in 917 the base at Dublin was re-established; by the mid-10th century it ruled over a substantial hinterland and written sources describe Dublin as the centre of the slave trade. With the Norman 78
conquest of Ireland in the 1160s the Norse towns became the property of the English crown. By the 12th century all Irish structures were attributed to the Norse, because it was believed that the Irish were incapable of building them. The Welsh writer and cleric Giraldus Cambrensis (1146–1223) wrote that ‘the Irish attach no importance to castles, they make the woods their strongholds and the bogs their trenches’.
Viking Dublin was rediscovered in the 19th century. At least four separate cemeteries and a number of single graves were found in and around Dublin, totalling c .70–80 male burials and about ten female burials. All are assumed to date from the 60-year period between 841 and 902. The largest concentration was discovered in Raider
1841 in railway cuttings near Kilmainham gaol; a second concentration was found 800 metres further west along the ridge, s an
at Islandbridge. In both cases the burials were inserted amongst d tr
unaccompanied Christian cist graves. All appear to have been ader
inhumations: there were c .40 swords, c .20 spears and shields, and a s aroun few oval brooches from female costume. Some of the grave-goods, d th
including weights and scales, suggested trading activities; there e Irish Sea
were also shears, sickles, tongs and pincers, spindle whorls, and needle cases.
As a result of urban redevelopment, subsequent archaeological excavation has also focused upon Dublin, and has concentrated on the investigation of its origins. The town was enclosed by an earthen bank in the 10th century; a second larger bank was built outside this around the 11th-century town. There were extensive excavations from 1961–81 at High Street, Winetavern Street, and Woodquay. The material has been taken as evidence of predominant, or exclusively, Hiberno-Norse occupation from an early period. The post and wattle houses and workshops have no direct parallels and may have been an Irish type, or may have been influenced from England during the 10th-century re-establishment.
They had internal roof-bearing posts, wattle and daub walls, with rounded corners, and a door in each gable wall. The interiors had 79
central hearths with narrow wall benches; there were sometimes small cubicles at each end.
At Fishamble Street extensive excavations have revealed a long sequence of occupation, with Anglo-Saxon-style buildings in the late 9th century, replaced by Hiberno-Norse buildings developed within 14 contiguous plots along the street from c .920 to the 11th century. No stables or byres have been found and the animal bones show that meat must have been brought from outside the town, although Finbar McCormick has suggested that the high proportion of pig bones suggest that pigs were kept in the backyards of the properties, maybe reflecting uncertainty over the food supply.
The proportion of pigs is
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